Consumer Council slams Sky, Virgin

The National Consumer Council is considering exercising its statutory powers in the dispute between Sky and Virgin.

The council has the power to submit "supercomplaints" under the Enterprise Act 2002. Such complaints, which are issued when "any feature or combination of features, of a market in the UK for goods or services is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers," could result in action by the Office of Fair Trading or the Competition Commission.

"The fallout from the dispute between Virgin Media and BSkyB is bad news for consumers," said NCC deputy chief executive Philip Cullum.

"Over 3 million Virgin Media customers have been left high and dry. They have lost some of the most popular channels, they aren’t getting a discount, and they’ve had little notice. Our reading is that Virgin Media customers have got the right to cancel their subscriptions without penalty, and we call on the company to confirm this without delay.

"Our concern is that this dispute may expose a more fundamental flaw in the digital television market, and the extent to which it is competitive for consumers.

"The National Consumer Council will be examining these questions as a matter of urgency, with a view to deciding whether to exercise our statutory powers under the Enterprise Act. If necessary, we will refer this market to the regulator using our power to bring a ‘supercomplaint’. In the meantime, we urge the two companies to put consumers first, by reaching a speedy solution and being crystal clear about customers’ rights."